Silver with polish

 

Everything is handmade by 15 artisans in Paris. Photo provided to Shanghai star

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Everything is handmade

"We are a small company", says Dubrule, who flew in from Paris to celebrate the opening of the Hermes-Puiforcat-St. Louis boutiques in Shanghai and Beijing.

"Everything is handmade by our 15 artisans in Paris."

"We work with our hands, as was done in the reign of Louis XIV. We don't use many machines," says Patrick Thurotte, who has been a silversmith with the House of Puiforcat for 34 years.

To shape a piece of silver takes 40 minutes of concentration, just 16 inches away from forge. Then it has to be tooled with thousands of strikes with a hammer to craft the design and pattern, says Eric Popineau, head of the Puiforcat House's workshop in Paris.

He describes the craftsmanship as "using your soul and your hands."

While holding on to its rich heritage and fine craftsmanship, Puiforcat continues to invent and reinvent, so the brand remains contemporary.

Jean Puiforcat (1897-1945) was an important innovator. In the 1920s he applied his modernist thinking and rigorous, geometric design to the art of silversmithing. In the Shanghai shop, a re-issue of one of his original designs, an Art Deco clock that combines silver with white marble, is on display.

A new generation of designers, inspired by the geometry and volume of the Cannes collection that Jean Puiforcat designed for his own wedding, has now created chopsticks for Asian food lovers.

Puiforcat used to be a favorite on wedding registers, but now the trend has shifted more to personal indulgence or gifts.

Among the most popular objects at the Puiforcat boutique are the silver beakers designed for Champagne and Cognac.

Beakers are an iconic creation for Puiforcat as its emblem takes its shape from the goblet. This traces back to times when the royal court in France traditionally drank from silver and gold beakers.

Puiforcat transformed the beaker and made it an essential part of wine tasting, she says.

The beaker made of sterling silver is also available gilded in gold, so when you pour Cognac in, it looks like it’s on fire. The metals help keep Champagne fresh while the unique shape animates the bubbles.